The Magnificent Stranger
by Max Rasgar
Summary: The end is sometimes the beginning and in one night in the life of a living vampire goddess everything will change. [Post: 'The Witch With No Name' AU]


Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kim Harrison. I'm just a humble FF scribe who's borrowing KH's characters to have a little adult story time.

A/N: This is a complete AU scenario that I hope you will find enjoyable in Ivy's POV because that's who this story is about. You have to read this whole story to see if Ravy happens; it seems like a waste if I tell you before hand. Pay attention to the rating because it's **M** for a looming smutfest interlude eventually. I consider this to be possibly a bit passed its content rating in certain sections for descriptions and the other obvious reasons. So if you're not cool with what I've warned you about jump ship now.

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 **|:|:|:|:|:|:|:| The Magnificent Stranger |:|:|:|:|:|:|:|**

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The powerful hum of the motorcycle's engine between my legs is not arousing the way it would normally be. My heart shattered on impact a few years ago in a hotel room but it's been the year's long freefall until the proverbial splat that has rendered what remained of it unrecognizable. At least my soul is still my own. With a twist of my wrist and a tap of my foot I urge my bike into a higher gear and glide through the night like the speed-junkie predator that I am. Demon? I'm sick of thinking about Rachel and after a while even Nina wasn't enough of a distraction. I'm far from stupid. I was always more than aware that the living vampire puppet wasn't healthy for me, hence why we're done. I may actually leave this place now that Rachel has made her choice. I've always known that it was never going to be me, but the truth never seemed to be enough for me to turn off what I feel.

The finely tuned rumble of the engine winds higher under my increasing throttle demands. The wind feels cool and refreshing blowing against my face through the open visor of my helmet. As I get closer to the city though the lights start to disrupt the darkness, and to keep those small pests in the air from hitting me right between the eyes I reach up with my left hand and snap the visor down. The noise decreases and it's like I've been shrunken into an isolated environment, where the glowing red taillights of the cars I pass are the only other inhabitants in this new smothering world. The tinted lens of my visor sharpens my night vision all the more; it removes all the harsh glare. I fly through a red intersection without a care in this world or the next. Tonight is about welcoming the freedom of erasure.

I ride through the well-lit business district until their lights can only be seen in my side mirrors. I don't really have a planned destination in mind. I just want the numbness to fade under the gentle roar of my bike's powerful engine. I twist the throttle after tapping the next gear up with my foot and speed up. After a few miles the rougher, more derelict part of the city is just ahead and so is The Warehouse. I've haven't been near that place since Rachel and I followed a lead there during our first assignment together. How the years have flown by, now that I'm on the outside looking in. But while I was falling in deep with Rachel the thrill of it all slowed time for me that was then though.

I slow down my bike as the metal shutters that cover the windows come into view on the upper level. They're half-way up and I see many body shape-shadows roaming around to the pulsating music that can hear even over my engine. It's fitting that I would unconsciously migrate here; why not find some closure where it all began? Come back here one last time to put the seal on that chapter of my life and move on for good. I pull my bike in to what passes for a parking lot. I kill the engine and remove my helmet; leaving it laying on the gas tank like a protected severed head to stand watch. I force myself to breathe shallowly since the over-filled dumpsters smell as though they've held just as many cooling dead bodies as garbage over the years.

Walking across the street I see the long waiting line, but I also recognize the same doorman as before. He smiles at me as I move closer and sure enough he holds the door open for me, even as the line behind me erupts in loud complaints. I'm still smirking as I pay the cover charge. The music was loud on the outside but now that I'm on the inside the rhythm of the song causes a pleasant thrum to take up space in my body. My eyes quickly adjust to the red lighting and I feel every bit a predator in search of prey. Especially since every time I take even the shallowest breath this damn place still smells like sex and cheap booze. I'm not surprised. So many possibilities are all but making themselves available to me and I haven't been here five minutes yet.

A male werewolf perched against the far wall is so aroused that I can smell his pre-cum from his leaking erection. I won't actively seek him out since I'm not in desperate need for an eyeful of his junk jutting down the leg of his pants. He smells angry and no doubt he just wants to fuck and try to breed his mate in a sense for the night. I feel sorry for the woman or man for that matter that takes the bait. I doubt that either sex would be capable of anything but limping away once it's all over. I end up smiling on the inside because just a few years ago my next thought would've been to compare myself to him. To say 'I'm no better' in a sense but I won't do that. I don't need to cut myself down anymore.

I move around the crowded dance floor. The air is filled with a maelstrom of scents and two in particular grab my attention. The two attention getters are a pair of attractive brunette women at a small table look my way, and I feel them both undressing me with their eyes. I haven't done a three-way in a long time and two women at once is a wonderful conundrum, but not what I'm looking for, even though they both smell ready. It's apparent to me that they are together, so I don't understand why they don't leave this place and go scratch that aching itch that they're both suffering from. Both of them continue to track me across the room and its then that I smell they're both vampires, one of them is newly turned. And the Turn take it, I really don't want any part of the hunger she hasn't even begun to satisfy yet. I don't look in their direction.

After moving past a couple that's grinding so hard into one another without spilling a drop of their drinks on me, someone does catch my eye. An exquisite redhead is sitting by herself at a small round table in the corner facing the entrance. There has to be something wrong with me being that I'm still drawn to that. I make eye contact with her and she smiles at me. Invitation accepted I forgo the alcohol oasis and walk towards her table. I push past a few more bodies dancing to the music with ease and with every step I feel that familiar excitement of hunting. I pull out the chair close to her and sit down. My innate instincts take in her smell; she's not human and she almost smells like a vampire though she's definitely not. She doesn't smell like a witch either and thankfully not a dog. I will never lie down and spread my legs for a wolf. Feeding off a select few is one thing but no more than that, not ever.

"Hi." The woman says with a smile.

Her voice is subtle and yet rich. A human wouldn't have been able to hear her over the loud music but I can.

"I'm Ivy."

"Pretty name." She says coyly and I find myself appreciating the blush that's spreading across her ample-sized chest. "I'm Avery."

"Pleasure." I say while leaning closer to her under the guise of being able to respond over the booming bass of the music.

Her form fitting green halter top brings out her eyes just as much as other parts of her anatomy. I wouldn't say that I'm a breast woman but I have never neglected any woman assets I've been with intimately. I will never behave like a man and simply fixate on a woman's chest. Plenty of both of the sexes do that enough to me; unwanted the majority of the time. Most may not believe it but I don't exactly walk around in the mood all the fucking time.

"Would you like a drink?" I offer with a seductive smile and then I smell her immediate excitement.

"Sure, but nothing too strong if you don't mind."

Her voice is smooth and almost soothing in tone but not deeper or a calculated dark like mine. I know that my voice affects people and sometimes I use that for all its worth. Though most days I wouldn't hesitate to say I'm not a fan of the sound of my voice.

"I'll be right back." I say while getting up from my seat.

As I walk away I feel her eyes on my ass and of course I make a meal of the feeling while adding a little extra sway for her enjoyment.

Two watered down drinks later and some safe, benign conversation I find myself more than ready to take her away from this place to a passable hotel not too far from here. She is lovely and as the hour passed I could smell her getting more aroused. Up close her hair isn't as deep a shade of red as Rachel's; more auburn with light sienna highlights. And instead of green eyes this woman has a rather enticing mixture that humans would call hazel, but with my vision I see the slight amber woven into the mix in small bursts. More than once I've found myself marveling at how the gemstones in her studded earrings match her eyes. Also, after just a few minutes I can tell that she knows who and what I am but that doesn't seem to be the sole selling points for her. Which is a good thing because I don't want her to be ill-equipped for what I have in store for her later?

I drain the contents of my tumbler as she talks about her overprotective brother. As soon as my glass hits the table the woman brazenly straddles me and sits down on my lap. I like it and I don't care who's watching, but they had better not be if they know what's good for them. She leans in closer to me; her heart is pounding away in her chest and I can hear the blood flowing faster in her veins. I want that from her tonight too but only if it's offered to me freely. I can smell her arousal and that's the last line that I needed to read to her invitation, that and the feel of her soft yet firm breasts pressing into mine. I smirk at her and then reach down between us and start to unlace the sinfully short leather skirt she's wearing. I undo the laces at the top and then the snap enough to let my hand slip inside, and despite her writhing in my lap her hand catches my wrist just before I was about to touch my destination.

"Let's go somewhere." She breathes out brokenly. God, her scent is calling out to me. Its saying 'take me hard and fast' and that's fine by me.

"You read my mind." I say as my lips graze the shell of her ear. She shudders against me and the faint moan I hear over everything else is like the sweetest music to my ears. I hated it though when she had to get up off my lap.

My tab paid on the shitty drinks and a lovely person by my side named Avery, we leave The Warehouse and I know without a doubt now that I will never set foot in that place again. Walking out into the night air she reaches for my hand and I lead her towards my bike. She seems hesitant but impressed by it. I know once I get the engine purring like a kitten she'll enjoy the vibrations while we ride. I swing my leg over the bike and she follows suit and that short skirt rides up.

Her mostly bare thigh is pressed closely to mine and I reach back and run my hand along it for a moment.

"You should take my helmet." I offer after removing my hand from her thigh.

She gasps but then takes the helmet when I reach it back to her. I smirk and start up my bike. I twist the throttle and then the woman behind me winds her arms around my waist. I pull out of the parking lot slower than I usually would and leave The Warehouse and all those old memories behind. I know forgetting is anything but simple but the warm body at my back feels wonderful. Yes, she's technically a stranger but that's all she has to be tonight, and maybe that's all she wants from the stranger named Ivy tonight too. A warm and willing body.

I take us a good fifteen minutes down the road from that shit-hole, until I see the relatively nice vampire-owned hotel ahead that I've used before for this purpose. I haven't been there in a while, but I do use places like this because I can't very well bring the majority of my dates/feeds back to the church. I know that Rachel doesn't judge too harshly but I've always felt that I was cheating on her as fucked up as that sounds. I couldn't abide doing any of that under the roof we shared, even though I was never her girlfriend. I still can't get a proper read on exactly what kind of Interlander Avery is. Normally that would raise all kinds of do not cross signs but not tonight. I do smell that she is here of her own free will; not a shadow and she has no claim on her from my kind. Avery's arms tighten around my waist as we lean around a curve, even though I'm going much slower than usual.

"How much further?"

I do hope she isn't the type of woman who will be offended by me taking her to a hotel. Though she clearly knows what she's doing and made her intentions abundantly clear back at the club when she straddled me.

"We're here." I reply loudly while gearing my bike down.

"Perfect." She breathes next to my ear. "Because between being pressed against you and wanting to run my fingers through your gorgeous hair, I'm so horny I can hardly stand it."

This woman may actually end up being one that I will want to see again and again. I'm not looking for a relationship but I'm also not looking to settle back into old habits. I suppose you could call this a rebound from everything that has gone wrong in my life on a personal level for the last few years. I think a chance with someone who clearly wants me is nothing to be ashamed of.

The hotel is nothing special but it isn't a flop house that charges by the half hour. I've always found it quaint and non-descript. The overhead lights on the small single file parking lot is well-lit and there are only four other vehicles scattered in random spots in the parking lot. Two high end black German made luxury cars, one tweety bird yellow sports car and a large dark blue SUV that gets four miles to the gallon. I pull into the next to last parking space on the end. My regular room is at the bottom and it's the last on the corner in this long beige domicile. It has the most privacy in this type of single line two-story type hotel that's a left-over from the eighties that's been refurbished more than a few times over since then.

"Aren't you gonna get a key from the clerk?" Avery asks while she nuzzles along the side of my neck.

I smirk while kick the kickstand out, kill the engine and then pocket the key to my bike in my leather jacket. "I already have one. You might say that I have a standing reservation here when I need it."

"You're just full of surprises aren't you?" Avery replies and I can hear and feel her smile. The feeling of her breasts pressed into my back the entire time has been extremely nice and very arousing. She squeezes me around the waist for a moment before she lets go and gets off of my bike.

"If you say so." I reply while putting out a little something extra in my voice and getting up off my bike too. The response is exactly what I wanted. Her heart rate jumps, her breathing increases and the gathering wetness in-between her legs accumulates a bit more for me.

"I do." Avery replies with a coy smile. "So lead the way you tall, dark overflowing drink of a vampire sexiness."

I smirk and do as the lady requested. The sound of her breathing quickens with each step and since she's a little shorter than me it takes a few steps before she's at my side. My eyes have adjusted to the glare of the bug-filled lights overhead that buzz with electricity. Her perfume smells like plumeria and orchids.

"So you know what I am." I state to draw her attention away from the multitude of plastic credit card-like keys I pull out of a small back flip holder that I keep in my jacket.

"Of course, so don't worry. I promise that I'm a consenting big girl who's no vampire virgin."

I snort a little when I find the plastic card that will open this door. I've managed to keep my quick search in the dark and away from her eyes. I slide the flat strip in and the light turns green and the lock clicks open.

"I like an experienced woman." I say while stepping aside to let her go in first.

She winks and playfully swats me on the arm. I step over the threshold and close the door behind me while hitting the light switch next to the doorway. The light settings are always low in these rooms.

The room has blackout curtains to boot and the queen-sized bed is freshly made; it smells clean enough to my standards. It's bought and paid for every month whether I use it or not and I haven't used this room or the few others around the city like it in several months. I've had to keep plenty of places to hide when I would have to leave the church. For when things inevitably would become too much for any person hopelessly in love to deal with not being wanted, by a certain red head who lives to push my buttons. Unrequited love sucks ass and swallows. I would never say that outside my thoughts, even though I think my case has got to be one of the sorriest on record.

"So, I feel like I need to tell you a few things first." Avery starts as she steps out of her sleek black heels that make her longs legs even more tempting. "I'm not here to be dominated. I don't like that. I'm here though to get completely fucked by a very beautiful and dangerous woman."

Women are so much more fun than men in bed. I will admit that being with a man sexually is easier; women require more attention. The plus column for me tips more towards women than men though. The stamina is much more impressive and when I choose to be with a woman I don't have to makes allowances for awful tasting ejaculation, that taints the taste of the blood and of course the occasional failing erection. I also know all about what it's like when you're with a man reluctantly. One of the biggest letdowns for me though is why men always seem to feel the irrepressable need to dominate every woman who chooses to sleep with them. Not that being with a woman guarantees a less than intense experience. I find that gender has nothing to do with that aspect.

"I can do that and more if you want." I offer while moving closer to her. "And I will but only what you ask, and even then only what you absolutely want."

"Oh my, where have you been hiding for most of my adult life?" Avery says as she closes the small remaining distance. Her warm scent invades my senses and I inhale it all. "Or have I just been looking in all the wrong places?"

I chuckle because this woman is charming. I can't decide how I want to kiss her but I know that I do want to now.

"Have you ever been with a vampire before?" I ask with a wry smile; I need to be sure. The color of her eyes seem to shift in the low light, sometimes more green than light brown and then a flash of amber.

I don't think I have to inquire about whether or not she's sampled a woman before. I find that question completely stupid, especially considering our surroundings. Not to mention the fact that her arousal spiked when she saw me and hasn't let up since. I can't wait to taste her in every possible way.

"I promise the answer is still 'yes'." She teases as those multi-colored eyes of her's focus on my lips. "But I have to confess that I haven't been with a vampire as gorgeous as you."

"That's very flattering." I reply as I reach up to hold her face in my hands and then I lean down to gently kiss her. I see a smile grace her lips before I close my eyes. I see no point in behaving like a starved felon. My appetite for her grows with each breath but it would be a crime to rush past so many equally enjoyable little things.

Our lips move over one another in a sensual exploration. I don't want to be dominated any more than she explicitly said that she doesn't either. Pushing boundaries with someone new is a tedious experiment in most occasions. But when I feel Avery's hands under my shirt it makes me smile into our kiss. In the next instance her tongue touches against my lips and I allow her in. The taste on her tongue is the watered-down Jack and Coke with a trace of peppermint from a breath mint she used earlier tonight. Avery's hands grip and massage over my sides and stomach; she's aggressive but somehow not demanding with her touch. I move my hands off her face and trail them down her neck. Her skin is flushed with heat, from the blood flowing freely in her veins with each pump of the strong heart that I can hear so plainly. My hands graze along the tops of her breasts and she pulls away from our kiss with a faint gasp.

After opening my eyes I know better than to say anything when she takes one of my hands off her breasts. She's not offended; she's just past ready. She brings my hand up to her mouth and kisses my fingertips. Her tongue slightly wets the tips and I smirk at her. Such a tease. Then she slowly moves my hand away and lowers it down her body. My fingers slip past the material of her shirt and I try to look in to her eyes but they are cast down. I smile and bite my lower lip because she wants me to watch our hands, especially when they disappear under her short leather skirt. She's giving me what I teased back at the bar and when my fingertips make contact with wet silk underwear her eyes flutter closed for a moment and a breathy exhale tumbles out of her trembling lips.

Her scent doesn't lie; I know that it won't take much skill to get her off the first time. She moves my hand over her heated patch a few times before she brings it out from underneath her skirt and I see just how wet my fingers are. Just the scent of her is enough to make me want to throw her on the bed and devour her from the waist down first. Two of my fingers are bathed in her juices and are being offered to me. I suck them both into my mouth; wrapping my lips around them tighter as she draws them out of my mouth. I moan at the taste and the way her fluids cling to my tongue even after she moves my fingers away. I tamp down the urge to push her onto the bed with some force again.

"You're a tease but a yummy one." I say while enjoying another flavor of her in my mouth. "So...how do you want it?"

Avery smiles and then her eyes flick down to my lips for a second before she looks in to my eyes. "I want your mouth all over my body."

I can't help but present my sexiest smirk. This woman is more than I could've hoped for tonight.

"Sit down then, please."

Avery let's go of my hand and slowly steps away from me to sit down on the bed. She reclines back on the bed slightly; waiting for me, watching me, then with a subtle smirk she slowly lets her legs fall open enough for me to see a hint of her panties.

"I feel like I should threaten you by saying: 'you're going to regret teasing me so much'. But I bet you will enjoy every minute of it because that's just one of the things that I want out of our time together."

Avery visibly shudders and I can smell a more potent increase of arousal from her. All of the women I've been with have responded to my touch long before I ever indulged them with any vampire pheromones. This one though seems to crave me and I've hardly put my hands on her and I certainly haven't used any of my inherited abilities yet.

"Such a selfless lover." The woman on the bed says with a smile before she reaches under her skirt and pulls her panties down over her shapely legs. "One night might not be nearly enough."

I leave that statement hanging in the open air. We both can work out an answer tomorrow or not. I walk towards Avery with intent. She has told me what she desires and I've said mine. No more words are needed. I step in between her parted legs and slowly lower myself down in front of her. I smell her and the damp underwear at my knees. My hands reach out to touch the skin of her calves and I gradually let my fingertips map out the soft expanse beneath them. I listen to her heart which has started beating even faster as my hands trail over her knees.

"Ivy, please."

"Please what?" I say while reaching for the end of her short leather skirt. I push it up past her thighs until I can see her.

"I can't wait any longer." Avery says with some effort.

She smells so ready and those moistened lower lips of hers are saying the same thing to me. I've seen my fair share of women up close and very personal. Everyone one of them are different but still familiar. No point in keeping the lady waiting any longer though, so I grasp both of her legs, placing them over my shoulders and then I lean forward and put my open mouth on her all at once. A loud strangled moan encompasses the room until it hits right between my legs. The taste of her fills mouth and its addictive. Her thighs clench around my head with every pass of my tongue through the length of her and with every long, slow stroke I swear the noises she's making are to die for.

I close my eyes and concentrate on her taste; every lick only makes me want to keep going until she tells me to stop. Her breathing is harsh, ragged and she just keeps getting wetter for me. I'm determined to make her let go for me by just using my mouth alone. Avery moans my name and that's all I need. Using both of my hands on her thighs I press them open wider and thrust my tongue inside her. The effect is incredible; she's so responsive, and the feeling of her wet walls instantly contracting around my curling tongue is enough for me to find a little release of my own right with her. But I'm not done yet and neither is she. I pull my tongue out of her after the tension in her body relaxes, and then I quickly thrust it back inside her one more time. I savor the taste of her release on my tongue before I open my eyes.

"Stop." Avery rasps out. "I need a second."

Looking up, I watch for a moment as Avery tries to catch her breath. I wipe my mouth on the back of my hand and then I reach down and unzip my boots and quickly pull them off. My leather pants are going to have to be dry cleaned. My own wetness has overflowed and made them uncomfortable. The bill aside I have no shame; it's rather gratifying that just pleasuring this woman caused me to let go a little myself. I smile while running my hands along the soft skin of Avery's thighs. I can tell she's ready for me again. As I start to get up off my knees, she sits up on the bed and the way she looks at me is almost enough to be a whole other type of undoing. Avery's hands reach for my face and she pulls me to her until my lips are on her's.

The kiss is almost feels like she has searched for something and she only just found in me. I can't help but moan at the feeling of being this desired, this wanted. She lowers me down on top of her with our mouths still connected. At the same time I feel her hands at my waist, eagerly pulling at the tail of my t-shirt. I pull away from her lips with a chuckle and she takes it as perfect the opportunity to yank my shirt off over my head. I know its early but maybe Avery was right. Just one night together might not be enough. If her blood is as enticing as the rest of her she may need a restraining order to keep me away. I laugh again into our kiss at my thoughts and she responds with a chuckle that brushes our lips together.

"Hmm, I taste good on you." Avery says before taking a moment to nibble on my lower lip. "But it's my turn now."

I want to lose myself and I intend to do that and more. "By all means, go ahead." I reply and the next thing I know Avery deftly unhooks my and then I'm being pushed on my back and she's straddling me.

Avery smiles while my bra dangles from her fingertip. In no time flat though it goes sailing off the side of the bed to land somewhere. I smile and reach up and grasp the thin straps of her halter top and bra and peel them both down over her breasts. The next few seconds pass with me admiring the sight before my baser instincts take hold. Avery has other plans though, I can tell by the way she's biting on her lower lip and looking at me like she's having difficulties in deciding what she wants to do to me first. I slowly lie back on the bed and let her look. I'm in no rush; we have all night.

"You look incredible in these pants." Avery says while she scoots down off my lap and unbuttons my leather pants and then starts working them down over my hips. "But they're in my way."

I help her out with their removal as much as I can. I don't think I have to work so hard to be overly sexy, given where we are and how badly she wants me naked. Avery chuckles and throws my pants off over the foot of the bed and in the next few seconds she shimmies out of her short leather skirt which gets tossed without ceremony. My heart quickens at the sight of her crawling towards me, naked. It finds a new rhythm though entirely when I notice her looking at me between my legs. I know she can see how ready I am for her and I feel no shame in that either. But I don't want her to feel like she has to do that for me because I'm all too happy to do time between her legs.

"Please come up here." I say and Avery visibly shivers and I know it's due to the slight batch of pheromones that I just released to get her to relax.

Avery crawls the rest of the way up until we are eye to eye and chest to chest. I want to feel her body against mine badly. So I reach up; letting my hands enjoy the sensations of touching the soft skin of her back and the muscles twitching underneath. I try to pull her down on me but without a hint of the strength I possess. She resists though and I let my hands fall away when she starts kissing me on my neck. Those lips force my eyes to flutter closed when they begin to leave invisible marks across the tops of my breasts. I force myself not to reach out for her again. To anchor myself I grab the bedsheets instead when her hot, wet tongue licks around my nipple and then the other.

"Keep going." I say lowly while releasing a few more pheromones. I won't let go of them completely until she gives me permission to taste what flows in her veins.

I open my eyes and watch those lips of her's as they move down my body. I can see and smell the arousal in every fiber of her being; I excite her, and when she kisses my bellybutton ring I see a deep red flush race across her chest. Avery looks up at me and smiles for a moment and then she leans back down and pulls my panties down over one hip and lays a kiss on the tender area between my hip and the part of me that's nothing but a barely controlled mess of need. She looks at me again and those hazel-amber eyes of her's seem so supernatural and exotic. I'm not ready for Avery to put her mouth on me yet, maybe later. So I open my legs wider and her eyes flicker an understanding to me, but they also wander back down the same path that her mouth took a few minutes ago.

She gets the invitation though and she slips her fingers inside me and I instantly start pushing back against every increasing shallow thrust of her fingers. I can tell she's shocked but that quickly goes away. Stops moving her fingers and I watch her move back up to lay her body completely on top of mine. I feeling of her breasts pressing into mine is wonderful, so I let go of the sheets and use my arms to pull her closer to me. She starts moving inside me again and the rhythm we achieve after a few minutes is more than promising. I manage to get my leg between her and then through our movement she accidently finds my thigh and grounds down on it. I'm sure she's enjoying feeling the slight clench around her fingers.

I love how wet she's staying for me and the sounds of our flesh smacking together wetly is enough to make me moan. Penetration no matter how wonderful it feels sometimes has never been enough for me. After a while it's just repetitive and it absolutely won't get me off. Avery catches onto this, since I've just been enjoying feeling her moving inside me, and I feel her change the angle of her hand until her thumb starts hitting me in the right spot with every timed intense thrust. My body is eager for another release and one much more freeing, but my most potent release won't be had unless I have her blood. I want it more than anything before this night is over.

"Come for me, Ivy." Avery pants into my ear in time with her thrusts. "I'm close again too."

"Good." I say while I move my hand between our bodies, so that I can touch her where she needs it most too.

When my fingertips begin circling her Avery's hips buck into my leg hard and her thrust inside me is almost too rough, but we both don't last long. This time when she cums it's all over my thigh and hand. She's like dead weight but I barely feel her, so I hold her close for a few minutes.

"Can you go again?" I ask after her breathing slows. "I want to taste you some more."

"Wait...what?" Avery breathes into my neck. "What about...don't you want my blood?"

"We'll get to that later if you like. I just want to keep tasting you for now."

My hunger for her has risen to a degree that I'm almost worried for her safety. She can take it and based on her smell she wants, needs this as bad as I do. I don't normally let go this much in front of a new lover; tonight has gone differently than I expected though. This woman is up for anything but she is very much aware and in control of her desires. I still haven't used my powers on her much, with other people I usually have to, if I'm to get any satisfaction. I don't respond to just anyone's touch.

"Move up here and you may want to grab the headboard." I say and Avery pushes up off me looking shocked, maybe even a little embarrassed but she complies.

Her smooth thighs fill my vision but when I look up at her sex and see how dripping with want it is I can't hold back. I reach up and with a guiding touch I convince her to lower herself down to my mouth. I want to consume her so I do. No gradual work up this time, instead I flatten my tongue and lick her entire length. She jerks and cries out my name. I love that and I don't care how much time I get before she cums in my mouth. I could go down on her for hours if she'll let me; if we agree to see each other again. I lay there and relish the sounds and flavors as Avery rides my mouth. In a few minutes she tastes close again and now I'm going to really give it to her. I use my tongue to stimulate what's under her fleshy hood.

Avery jerks so violently that I have to use my hands on her thighs to hold her place. Even though I know she's not going anywhere and what I'm doing just feels that fucking good. I know she's getting too sensitive though after a few passes, so I ease off and go back to tasting her on the inside.

"God Ivy! Yes, don't stop, please don't stop." She begs in strangled tones and I feel a rush of pride. I want her to last all night and further on until we're both sore in all the right places.

"I'm not stopping until I can't taste anything but you in my mouth." I breathe into her over-heated core, before thrusting my tongue inside her weeping depths and then withdrawing. "And after that you'll just have to wait and see."

Avery cries out my name and grinds down on my face. She's right there and she's going to give me exactly what I want. I curl my tongue inside her and she gasps out another loud drawn-out moan.

"Do it." She pants above me and I'm confused as to what she's asking me for. "My blood...please." I remove my tongue from inside her and press it against that sensitive part of her body again. "Fuck Ivy! Take my blood now. I want...to feel that."

Enough said that and now I can't decide where to mark her first, to taste her blood first. The essence of her in my mouth has only intensified my inhuman urge. And the beautiful stranger moving in a irregular rhythm above me makes me want to do anything but stop. Besides, I won't make the lady ask me twice.

"Do you give this to me?" I say while looking up at the woman on top of me. Her stomach muscles contract with each shaky breath and her grip on the headboard intensifies so much that I hear it creak where it's joined to the bed frame.

"Oh God yes! Take it!"

Dizziness hits me for a moment and my eyes flutter shut. God I love this moment. Nothing else in this life of mine compares to it. I drag my tongue from her still leaking folds towards the soft pale flesh of her inner thigh. The artery there is potent source to draw from and it pulses out a strong song near my ear; the vein itself is a tempting blue wavy line drawn under her sweet skin. My teeth tingle like I've had too many sweets and in my case what I'm about to indulge in is more delectable than chocolate. I place a wet kiss over the pulsing blue line beneath her flesh. She moans and I inhale the scent of her unending arousal for me once more. I open my mouth and apply pressure to the area but not enough to break the skin. Avery squirms and moans my name in a low breathy plea.

This time I bite down harder and her hot blood rushes into my mouth and then coats my tongue. The copper-metallic richness is enough to make my eyes roll back in my head, but this is no ordinary blood. It's been a long time but I know that distinct tang on my palette. I remove my mouth off the woman on top of me almost violently and look up at her. Angry and cheated are the first two feelings that hit me with force. She swallows roughly and it sounds like her heart is going to burst through her ribcage. The woman who calls herself Avery lowers her eyes as she reaches up and then gradually removes her small studded earrings one at a time.

An apparent disguise begins to dissolve; is the only way I can describe it, and with rapt attention I watch. The auburn-sienna hair simmers away until a true red mane of hair settles in its place. Green eyes flash into existence under long eyelashes and then freckles erupt all over pale-perfect shoulders and other points I refuse to look at. But I've seen and tasted it all now just the same. Being naked as the day I was born doesn't matter, I'm past ready to throw her off of me. She must sense it because her thighs tremble and not just from her halted orgasm, without further pause she quickly moves off of me.

"Ivy." Rachel's hesitant, shaky voice washes over me and another layer of anger with it. "I know you're mad but I thought this would be better. You know give us a clean slate where you knew from the get go that I wanted you. And now that I've had you, I won't let you go now or ever again."

My heart jumps up into my throat and I swallow it back down. It's fitting actually because I've known for several years now the witch has to do things on her own terms and at her own pace. This though at my expense is close to unforgiveable; her motivations aside.

"You're so goddamn selfish Rachel." I say before I wipe my mouth off with the back of my hand again, and then scoot towards the foot of the bed.

"So what if I am? But you didn't think so a few minutes ago!" She says in her usual justified tone. I just sit there and listen to the sound of the sheets moving with her in what I imagine is an animated protest. "I changed my mind, Ivy. I don't know what I was thinking settling for Trent."

I wonder what she would say if I told her I had changed my mind about my undying devotion. Tell her she killed my love for her and its dead and buried.

"I suppose anyone as long as it wasn't me is what you really mean to say Rachel." I reply while looking down at the somewhat new indigo blue carpeting beneath my feet. I'm past tired of censoring myself especially now, not after what she's made me do.

"How can you say that?"

So many things about me have been rendered past saving but I'll keep going if it's the last thing I do and it probably will be.

"Years and years of experience." I answer while leaning down to pick up my leather pants off the floor. I smirk to myself as I pull them on one leg at a time. They smell like my cum but it will have to do until I get home. I can't ride my bike bare-assed through the city. I'm too old for shit like that now, even though it would annoy my mother to the Ever After and back. She still wants me to find a high born vampire to breed with like a bitch in heat all in the name of Tamwood.

With a deep sigh I rise up off the foot of the bed and pull my pants over my hips. I hear Rachel's heartrate spike again but it's not enough to make me care. I walk across the room and grab my bra off the dresser where it obviously landed, when the other woman-Rachel in disguise-flung it. Why couldn't she have just stayed that magnificent stranger named Avery that I met in a shitty dive bar? I put my arms through the straps; fasten it in the front, and then adjust the girls back in the wicked see-thru black lace.

"Don't do this. Not now, not after." Rachel pleads and I'll be born damned all over again because I smell tears. Against my better judgement I turn around and look at her. "We've wasted years already and I know that's all my fault." Tears are filling her deep green eyes and for a moment they look like shining gemstones to me. "I'll do anything, Ivy."

I feel angry all over again. She has even laid her pride down for me; begging for a chance. But why should I cave in so easily? Rachel has put me through an emotional hell because of my gender. I didn't project or imagine anything. I tasted her blood and felt everything she denies and has always hid poorly. Even our auras chimed and that wasn't enough for her. Never mind that she loved me; it was what wasn't between my legs that was so unattractive.

"You've done enough Rachel." I say while walking back across the small room to pick up my boots that are laying on the floor at the foot of the bed. "And you just had to take the last thing. Playing on my desires and my greatest weakness."

"No!" She shouts even as her tears flow from her eyes and run down her cheeks. "This is bullshit! I love you. I never fucking stopped and it was never wrong for me to feel that way about you. I know that now!"

Rachel doesn't normally curse out loud, however nothing that comes out of her mouth can shock me much or at all really. I've been conditioned to predict how unpredictable she is but clearly not enough. I mean look at where we are. She's so vulnerable and destroyed sitting up in the middle of the rumpled bed with the sheets pulled up to her chest to protect her modesty. I should feel something and I suppose later on I will when this hits home. Right now all I feel is an all too familiar emptiness, but I can't cry tears that I don't have in me anymore.

"The love I felt for you was lethal at times." My voice is strong and it pushes the silence out of the room. "I don't want to feel like that anymore. I've earned something better."

Rachel's lower lip trembles and those tear-swollen eyes of her's flash to another potent emotion-anger.

"You've earned me Ivy Alisha Tamwood and I'm not settling for your stupid 'no thanks I'm not in the mood anymore' crap."

"You sound like a demon."

"I am one, Ivy."

"I know."

Rachel's stubbornness is legendary. I wonder where in the hell I developed the patience for it? I suppose it was a package deal that came with falling in love with her. It's amazing to me that after all these years I can't seem to just turn my heart another way. I still love her, but I pushed the true ferocity of it down in an effort to wait it out it. Hoping that it passes. It hasn't.

"You had me, took my blood and here I am professing my love to you and that's not enough?"

Of course she would try to grind this whole mess down to make it so simple. Our life together has been anything but easy; apparently Rachel chooses to see it differently.

"Fine Rachel, let's do this."

She looks confused but then she sniffles and wipes under her watery eyes with the back of her hand.

"What do you want from me?" I ask tersely and Rachel startles a bit. "Do you want a couple of months of endless sex until someone else, preferably male, catches your wandering eye?" The witch's anger flares in her glossy eyes again. "Or do you want something more?"

Rachel's eyes darken and her barely contained anger smells sharp and swift. As does her magic; it's like an energy that surrounds her all the time. I imagine it's a force of life inside her, like the being that resides inside of me.

"You don't have to talk to me like that, Ivy."

"Nothing else seems to work." I fire right back. "Everything has to be done your way all the time. To dick with what anyone else might feel."

She grips the sheet tighter to her chest and shifts on the bed. I watch as she clenches her eyes tightly, trying to hold in her tears. I should feel guilty but I can't. I've suffered an intense longing for years for someone that I loved like no other, and in return she did not love me back in an honest way. She lied to me over and over again and worst of all to herself. Rachel covers her face with one hand and then I hear a small muffled sob.

"I've only ever wanted you and no one else, but at every turn you said you didn't swing that way." I manage to say without sounding bitter. "And though you didn't say it, I know you also thought sometimes that I wasn't good enough. You were afraid of me in so many ways for just as many different reasons."

She cries more but in a reserved way; holding it in as much as she can. I can't bear to see it but I make myself. I actually don't want to watch her suffer in any real way. I do want her to experience a fraction of what I've endured though. I need her to understand even in the smallest way what loving her has cost me. Yes, I got something out of it but we both could've gotten something even better together. Her burning red hair rests on her shoulders that occasionally move when a subdued shudder racks her body.

"Sometimes I think about Mia." I blurt out because I need her to stop mourning us, that and she has been on my mind lately.

Rachel's stops shielding her face from me and looks up. Her eyes are red and her face is a portrait of melancholy.

"That banshee who attacked us?" She asks with a voice laced in tears and brokenness.

"The very same." I reply as I turn around before sitting down on the foot of the bed. This will be easier if I don't have to see Rachel. "Mia came to my office once before we met and I asked me to live with her, to give her a child but I said no."

Her gasp is nearly silent but I heard it. These days when I've thought about my past I realized that if I had accepted Mia's offer I would've most likely never met Rachel. I would have been spared the burden of unrequited love. But at the same time I know that I wouldn't have found the heart to change all the rotten things about me; mostly my self-loathing. Who knows what could've happened now if I had said yes to the banshee's offer.

"It would've been a means to an end but at least she wanted me for something other than my name." I continue while looking down at my hands. "Mia offered me everything that I wanted at the time then. A willing blood supply and as much passion as I could stand."

This is by far the longest amount of time Rachel has been silent, that is if I don't include the times she was unconscious and in the hospital. She moves slightly on the bed behind me. I can tell that she's trying to decide if she wants to be close to me or maybe she has changed her mind again. Either way it doesn't matter.

"She called me a cowardly whore." I say with a small chuckle because it's the silence that's getting to me, not the memory of Mia playing out in my mind. "She was right then too. I'm not a coward anymore though. But it would appear that I'm still capable of a being a vampire with loosened morals about the warm bodies she goes to bed with."

The bed moves underneath me and then a hard slap to my bare shoulder lurches me forward.

"You're not a whore and neither am I!"

I know another hit is coming so I turn and catch Rachel by the wrist before she has a chance to strike me again.

"Careful witch. I've let you put your hands on me enough for one night."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She struggles even in my loosened grasp. Her blood still sings in my veins like an opera at full volume. She has made me that much stronger. "Don't you want me; can't you...love me anymore?"

For once she has asked some good questions. The answers could be as simple as 'yes' when I've had room to breathe. I wish it was nothing more than a matter of my pride but it's my dignity. I have so little of it left and I don't want to be the equivalent of an abused woman coming back for more. Rachel started me on a better path all those years ago with her gesture of hot chocolate and friendship. Those kindnesses meant the world to me, when that night was one of the more brutal that I'd experienced in a while.

"My feelings haven't changed for you Rachel, but this isn't what I wanted from you as hard as that is for you to believe." I say while releasing her wrist. "Maybe that first year when we moved in together this would've been my fantasy made real; now all I really feel is more hurt on top of what I felt earlier tonight. What I'm so very tired of feeling."

Rachel takes a deep shuddering breath and moves closer to me; she's still clinging to the deep blue and wrinkled hotel sheet.

"I realize now that this wasn't the best plan to show you that I want you." Rachel says softly and I force myself to focus on anything but her eyes. "I tricked you because I was getting desperate. You were acting like your life meant nothing that you were disposable and you're not." I watch as Rachel leans into my shoulder until her head is against my chest and her hair is tickling my nose. "You're my best friend, the person I trust with my life. You're my Ivy, please don't tell me it's too late." She quickly leans back and looks right at me. "Or that you've finally decided I'm not worth the risk."

I have to be the biggest glutton for misery on the planet. But the taste of her essence and blood is still in my mouth and it's unbelievably arousing, though it's not enough to make me just turn the other cheek and forget. A sigh is all that comes out because I really don't have the easy answers that Rachel prefers. I look around the room for my t-shirt and then I see it half-way clinging to the nightstand. I get up off the bed again and walk around it; Rachel watches after me closely. I can smell her fear but it's different. She's afraid that I'm going to leave her for good. I pick up my shirt and inspect it for rips because she was very enthusiastic about getting it off me.

"Do you want children?" Rachel asks timidly but I'm shocked all the same. Out of all the questions she could ask; I shouldn't have mentioned Mia to her.

"We don't have to discuss everything in one night." I reply evenly while pulling my plain black t-shirt over my head. "For now I would like to get out of here and go home."

"You're coming home with me?"

I turn around sharply while gathering up my long hair to pull it out from under the collar of my t-shirt.

"Yes, so long as you don't mind riding my bike with me again."

Rachel bites her lower lip and fuck, the witch's libido and mine run on the same speed. The sight and smell of us in this room would've been my salvation and ruination on any other day and today was that day.

"I would love to be close to the sexiest vampire in the world again." She says while shifting on the bed and I sincerely hope she keeps that damn sheet covering up all of her parts. "Even when she's trying to scare the crap out of me on her two-wheeled death trap."

I appreciate her efforts to make this situation better to an extent. She behaves like a child sometimes and I know that I will always be baffled by how truly careless Rachel is in many ways. Other people's emotions included. A normal person who wasn't affected by her would've left this room and her in it by now.

"How did you know where I would go tonight Rachel?" I ask in an effort to tamp down on her attempts to readily sweep our newest mess under the rug again.

"I played a hunch and I know you." She replies with a slight frown. "And if you hadn't showed up I would've tried someplace else."

I nod and lean against the chest of drawer's top for a moment while trying to not breathe in through my nose. The combined scent of us is too much. It's not a good plan though. Clearly the best course of action is to get her re-dressed and the both of us hell out of this room.

"And Ivy, I'll have you know that I didn't plan on us having sex tonight. I got so caught up in you that I felt like I was going to die if I couldn't be with you. And I've never claimed to be a nun even though we live in a church." I look at Rachel and offer her a fleeting smile. She responds with a small smile too for a few seconds, before she tucks some of her hair behind her ear. "For the longest time I thought you were falling in love with Nina. I mean it looked like you were to me."

I know that's as close to asking directly as she will get. But I don't really like the fact that she also used my attempt to move on as an excuse to not say anything to me. However, I can't blame Rachel too much to an extent. I was crushed more than a few times over, due to her many so called loves.

"For a short time I wanted to be in love with her." I reply while picking up Rachel's discarded clothes from various spots on the floor. I'm determined to get her dressed before this conversation is over. "It didn't happen though. I tried to move on faster than I was apparently ready to."

"So it's not too late then?"

Back to the question I didn't answer a few minutes ago. I still don't know exactly how to answer it completely, but I do know one thing though. I sigh heavily as I walk towards the bed and hand Rachel her clothes.

"No it's not too late." I reply before turning away from Rachel. "But what happened tonight won't be happening again anytime soon."

"You, you don't want to sleep with me?"

I wince inwardly at the sound of Rachel's wounded voice. I wonder if she'll ever reach the same level of maturity as me. I know all too well that she doesn't operate the way most people do and I admire that spontaneous nature at times because it's unlike my own. I have to be organized and what some would call anal to keep a certain amount of control. A beast cannot just be allowed to run wild; there will be consequences. I look up in the mirror mounted on the wall in front of the chest of drawers and I see her behind me. She's still sitting up in the bed; holding that damn sheet up like a shield, without a stitch of clothing on and that wild red hair of her's is wonderfully messed up from our adventure.

"Not for a while." I reply while looking at Rachel's reflection staring back at me in the mirror.

She quickly looks down at the bed where she has spread out her clothes. I know that had to hurt. I didn't mean for it to too much but I can't just pretend this didn't happen in a very wrong way. I mean did she actually think I would be happy about this? Rachel finally looks up and our eyes meet in the reflection again. I know mine is still mostly black from all the emotions swirling around the room and having tasted her in more ways than one they will be like that for a while longer.

"But you do want me...you still love me?"

Her loaded questions need assurances more than answers. I find that almost funny from a woman who flies by the seat of her pants and always leaps without bothering to look. I turn away from the mirror back towards the woman who has owned my heart for years and will own it even when it stops beating. I've tried to keep myself from loving her many times but it didn't take hold, even when I needed it to the most just to get by.

"It would appear I can't stop loving you." I reply lightly and Rachel looks as though she's about to cry again. I'm not so full of pride that I would throw her away. I should though for the sake of my dignity. "And what kind of person would I be if I didn't give you another chance, Dear Heart?"

Rachel's expression softens and she offers me a hesitant smile. I don't know where we'll go from here. The witch will have to earn what I offered to her in the past, but my days of throwing myself at her feet will never be back under any circumstances. I have no wish to punish her or myself though. I've been down that road for too many years of my life and I need it to stop. This won't be easy; moving on from here. Our transition from close friends and roommates to more might have been easier years ago if Rachel wasn't so damn stubborn. That time is gone though and it won't be back.

"You haven't called me that in years." She says in a way that makes my heart and her's beat faster. "I hadn't realized how much I missed hearing it, until now."

Then in my next breath I have to stifle a laugh because I hear Rachel utter: 'God, I'm such a shit.' under her breath. She looks shocked but then I guess it hits her that I'm me and I can hear everything. It all feels good and wrong at the same time but it is what it is. It also felt good to call her that and for her to fully understand how I meant it for a change.

"I'll take your silence as you agreeing with me for once." Rachel snaps playfully while flinging the bedsheets off. "And of course it would be about another one of my profane slips up tonight."

Yes, I don't shy away from the sight of her naked body. It may be some time before I see her that way again. Principals aside I'm not dead and even when I am I know that I will always be attracted to her.

"If the broom fits then ride it." I say with a smirk.

Rachel snorts as she steps into that sinfully short skirt and pulls it up over her toned legs. "Very funny, Ivy."

I shrug and turn away from her because I can't keep gawking at her while she's getting dressed. My will power is stronger than it's ever been but it's not made of stone. Then I have to try not to focus on the sounds of her putting on each article of clothing that I stripped off her. There wasn't much and I'm certain her underwear is past the point of wasting time to try to wash them clean again.

"I'm decent now." Rachel says. "You can stop being the perfect vampire gentlewoman, even though you've seen the naked witch before."

I hope her lightness will carry us both because I wish that this moment where under different circumstances. I wish this was five years ago at least. I wish that she hadn't tricked me. I wish that we had properly dated first. But those wishes are null and void and belong in the past. All we have is now and it's not what I envisioned when I would imagine Rachel coming to her senses, but I will take it because it was never going to be easy between us. Truthfully, I never wanted easy but a little normal would have been nice; basically what some would call ordinary. Well as close to bland as a vampire and a witch can get. Anyone should consider themselves lucky to find someone who loves them unconditionally and Rachel does even when she's afraid of me.

A smile finds its way onto my face when I feel Rachel's arms around my waist and then her head on my shoulder. "I won't ask you to stop thinking so much, because that would be like asking the world to stop turning."

I chuckle and she turns her head and then I feel her breath on my neck. Saying no to a willing Rachel for a while is going to be a difficult task.

"Not that there isn't some timeless charm in the strong silent type," Rachel continues and I end up smiling a little more. "But you're starting to worry me and besides I don't like my women silent."

I turn around in her arms and it's a surprising relief to see her, instead of the stranger I met in the bar earlier tonight.

"You said you didn't like women in that way."

"I don't." Rachel replies as she leans in and kisses the corner of my mouth. "Just you. And I really like you and I really love you too."

My breath catches and my eyes start to burn. Rachel's arms move from around my waist until her hands are holding both of my cheeks. "Ivy, I'm sorry about how I let things go too far tonight but I don't regret finally being with you. It was always me; you responded to me even though I was hiding behind Avery." She says as her thumbs stroke underneath my eyes and they catch a few stray tears. "God, I already want you again but what I'm truly sorry for is making us wait. You have the patience and tolerance of a saint." I roll my eyes at Rachel and she gently taps me on the nose with her finger. "More importantly I promise we'll get better together. I want that more than anything."

I should feel like a lamb being lead to slaughter but I don't. Although, sometimes even instruments of fear aren't immune to the effects of the unknown. As for me I'm too far gone on her and I have been for years. And all the right words, the words I've longed to hear from her is a start in a better direction, no matter how dangerous it is for me. I can hear her heart beating wildly in her chest and I can smell that new uncertain fear from her again. So I lean forward and kiss her to put us both out of our misery. But this kiss is for Rachel not some stranger, and it carries with it every bit of love and longing that I have left for her. I hope what we might have is enough to chase away all the bitter years in our past. I believe we're overdue for something that looks nothing like just another sad ending.

 **|:|:|:| END |:|:|:|**

* * *

 **Soundtrack:** **"** **Stockholm Syndrome" by Muse, "This Is A Trick" & "Telepathy" by Crosses, "Ringfinger" by Nine Inch Nails, "Knife Party" by Deftones & "Love Is Blindness" by U2**

 **Last Words:** **I mostly skimmed through the last book, because so much of it made me want to chuck it good and hard far away from me. To cleanse myself and yet end up writing probably the naughtiest things, I re-read 'Undead In The Garden Of Good and Evil' & 'Blood Work' and then decided to whip something together several months ago; better now than never. And even though I really missed writing Ivy this will remain the mother of all long one-shots. The name 'Avery' is KH inspired too. As per usual the title is a mandatory Clint E deal but straight-up with a 'no pun' chaser. **


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